The New Kid, My New Friend
by theyellowdaisy
Summary: What if Evan had met Connor when he was MUCH younger? Would the two boys be friends? What is it about the new kid that fascinates Evan SO much? Part of the AU Tree!Tot series.
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to my AU series Tree!Tots. In this series, Evan and Connor are about seven years old. And if you are in the United States, that makes them in about second grade. Yes, I know that Evan and Connor's story didn't happen this way. This is all just a little bit of fun. I don't own the characters mentioned in this story but I do  own these Tree!Tots. Thanks for reading!

"Boys and girls, we have a new student in our class."

Evan lifted his head from where he had been staring at his notebook, and looked up toward his teacher Mrs. Phillips. Standing in the front of the class next to his teacher, was a boy that Even had never seen before. He looked to be about his same age, only a bit taller then Evan, but the only difference, was that this new boy certainly didn't look like anyone Evan had ever seen before.

"This is Connor Murphy. Connor and his sister Zoe just moved here, and today is their first day of school. Can we all say hello to Connor please?"

The class let out a mumbled greeting before tuning out what else their teacher had to say; everyone except Evan that is. Connor wasn't like anyone else that Evan had seen at his school, and in fact like no one he had really seen in town either. Connor had long hair that just grazed his shoulders, and he was wearing a sweatshirt that looked two sizes too big on him. Evan wasn't sure why, but as Mrs. Miller continued to introduce Connor to the class, he was fascinated by watching the new boy twist and knot up the sleeves of his sweatshirt in his hands.

Although Evan couldn't see what shirt Connor was wearing, he knew it had to be black by the small sliver of fabric that hung on display near the bottom of his oversized sweatshirt. But somehow the thing that confused Evan the most was the fact that Connor had nail polish on his fingernails. Evan had never seen a boy with nail polish, and in fact all he wanted to do at that moment was ask him, why. And why some of his nails didn't have polish on them, and why other fingers looked like the polish had chipped away. Evan had so many questions, and he could barely contain his excitement by the question that his teacher asked next.

"Boys and girls, I have a very important job for someone in this class. Would someone like to be Connor's special buddy for the next few days, and show him around our school? It would be a great way for Connor to make a new friend."

Before Mrs. Phillip's had even finished her speech, Evan had his hand in the air, waving enthusiastically at his teacher. Although the idea of a new friend made him nervous, getting the chance to ask this stranger all his questions currently racing around in his head, made Evan feel so excited.

"Evan, I hoped you would raise your hand," she said kindly," Why don't you take a seat next to Evan. He will help you get settled in. Welcome to our class Connor."

With a gentle nudge, Connor was pushed toward the empty seat next to Evan. No one ever sat next to Evan in class, and he liked it that way, but for now, Evan would let Connor sit next to him. Once the boy was set in the small plastic blue chair, Evan waved his hand enthusiastically, and then held it out to the new boy.

"Hi Connor. I'm Evan Hansen."

Much to his surprise Connor didn't take Evan's hand right away, and instead stared back at him with a look that made Evan feel a little uneasy inside.

"You smell funny." Connor replied

Evan chuckled as he withdrew his hand from Connor's space.

"Yeah, it's some sunscreen my Mom makes me wear. But I don't know why she made me wear it today because it is so cloudy outside. But I guess that you can get burned without sun right? I don't know. I don't know why it smells so funny. I guess I kind of got used to it. Hey, now that we're friends, maybe you will get used to it too. Maybe I can share some with you tomorrow. Would you like that?"

Connor's face didn't move as the words spilled quickly from Evan's mouth, and the not so interesting facts about his sunscreen.

"We're not friends."

Evan's eyebrows knitted together, and his smile fell suddenly. Although he was used to people being unkind to him, he didn't know what he had done to Connor to make him mad.

"Well not yet right? I don't have a lot of friends at school, but I think you and I can be friends. We can get to know each other today, and then before you know it, we can play at each others house, and I'll show you the tree swing that I have in my backyard. It is so cool!"

"I told you. We're not friends. I don't need any friends Evan."

Evan turned around in his seat, so that he was now completely facing away from Connor and lowered his head down back toward his notebook.

"Oh. Okay. Well.. if…if you need anything, just ask me." Evan replied quietly

And just like that, Evan had lost another friend. It wasn't anything new for the young boy, but deep inside, he had a tiny glimmer of hope that maybe Connor would be different then all the other kids at his school. Just maybe.

"Evan?"

Evan lifted his eyes to look at his teacher who was now kneeling near his desk.

"Yes Mrs. Phillip's?"

"It's almost lunch time, and time for you to go see the nurse. We will meet you in the cafeteria okay?"

Evan nodded and hopped out of his chair. As he turned away from his desk, he stared straight ahead toward the door, and didn't see Connor watch him as he walked away from where the two boys had been sitting.

"Okay. Thank you Mrs. Phillip's."

Once he was outside of his classroom and the door shut, Evan promised to try and hold in his tears until he got to the nurse's office. The other kids in his class had seen him cry plenty of times, but Evan didn't feel like letting everyone else in the school see him cry today. Evan felt like the luckiest boy in the whole school sometimes to have his own Mom as the school nurse. Although he got teased about it at first, the kids had stopped bothering him about it for now, and had found someone else to pick on. Today was one of those days that Evan was glad that his Mom was there; she wouldn't care if he cried.


	2. Chapter 2

"Mom?"

Evan had opened the door to the small room that was used as her office, and was peeking his head around the corner.

"Hi honey, come on in."

Evan walked inside, and was thankful that the office was empty as far as he could see. He sat down on the small bed that was just inside the door, and hugged his knees to his chest. He closed his eyes, and began to breathe, just as slowly as he could manage.

 _"One, two, three, four, five."_ He counted in his head

"Evan? Are you okay sweetheart?"

He didn't even need to open his eyes to sense that his Mom was kneeling down on the floor next to the bed. He could feel her hands on top of his, her thumbs moving gently over the top of his hands.

"I just wanted to make a new friend today. And, and, he didn't want to be my friend."

"Who honey?"

"I had so many questions that I wanted to ask him, but he told me I smelled funny, and that we weren't friends…ever!"

"Evan. You are going to have to slow down and start from the beginning for me. I am not following you." She said slowly and calmly

Evan's eyes opened, and as they did, tears fell and rolled down his cheeks, crashing onto the top of his hands.

"We got a new boy in our class. His name is Connor, and he doesn't look anything like the other boys. I told Mrs. Phillip's that I would be his buddy, and he sat next to me at my desk, and told me that we weren't friends."

"You know how it can be on the first day of school Evan. It's scary right? Why don't you give Connor a chance, maybe he needs a friend just as badly as you do but is too scared to ask for one."

Evan rolled onto his back, and covered his face with his hands.

"He told me that I smelled funny."

"Well..how about I give you a bubble bath when we get home. That will make you feel better, and, make you smell good."

Evan took his hands away from his eyes to look at his mother.

"Promise?"

"Of course. Now, let's get you your medicine so you can get back to lunch. Maybe Connor wants to share his lunch with you."

"Maybe." Evan replied without any hope

Just like Connor, Evan had something that made him different then everyone else in his school. It wasn't on the outside like Connor's black hair, or the nail polish on his fingers, it was on the inside. Every day before lunch, Evan would take a short walk down the hallway to the nurses' office to take his medication. It had a big long name that Evan couldn't remember, unless his mom told him again, but all he knew, was that it helped make the butterflies in his stomach fly away, when he got too nervous at school. At first, the kids in his class would ask why he always went to the nurses office, but now, they didn't bother him anymore, it was just something that happened every day around eleven.

Evan held out his hand to take the small pill from his mother, and grab the cup of water that she held out to him with the other hand. He took his medicine obediently, and took the biggest sip of water that he could manage. Each day, Evan was rewarded with a kiss to the top of his head, before he hopped down from the table to throw his paper cup away.

"Good job Evan."

Evan thrust his hands into the pocket of his blue jeans and stared at the floor.

"Can I go home early today?" he asked quietly, almost whispering

"No Evan. But what you can do is get to lunch, and try to be friends with Connor. You remember what the first day of school is like, I am sure that he is nervous just like you. Now go on, I put extra cookies in your lunch box like you asked for. I'll see you after school."

After one big sigh, Evan shuffled out the door of the nurses' office, and walked across the hallway to the cafeteria. When he arrived, Evan found his lunch box waiting for him at the table where his class had been assigned to sit. Evan usually sat at the end of the long table by himself, and when he slid into his seat, he was surprised to find Connor sitting at the totally opposite end of the table away from him. Carefully, he snuck a glance at the other boy, who was too busy with his sandwich to notice, and opened his lunch box to find the cookies his mom had packed for him. He didn't feel like eating much anyway, but cookies sounded good to Evan right about now.


	3. Chapter 3

Recess for Evan was usually spent by himself, sitting underneath one of the large trees on the school playground. Sometimes Evan would bring a book to read with him, or sneak a toy outside, even though they weren't supposed to, but most of the time, he would simply sit under the tree and watch the patterns of clouds above his head. Recess was a time that Evan hated, because he didn't have anyone to play with. Most of the time, it was okay, as he usually had his books or the clouds to keep him busy, but sometimes when the big kids saw him sitting alone, they made fun of him, and liked to push him down. That hadn't happened for a few weeks now, and Evan was thankful for that at least.

As he turned his head, to watch some kids from his class take turns going down the slide, Evan heard a noise that caught his attention. Across the playground, he could see the group of kids that usually bullied him, surrounding someone else, who like him, was sitting on his own underneath a tree. Although he wasn't sure what made him do it, Evan stood, brushed the dirt off the backside of his jeans, and walked closer to the tree, to see what was happening.

"Hey new kid." Someone yelled

As Evan got closer to the tree, he could see that it was Connor who was now surrounded by the group of older boys that usually bothered him on the playground instead.

"Leave me alone." Connor mumbled back

"I don't think so new kid. I want to talk to you."

"And I said leave me alone." Connor snapped back

"You're a freak." One boy yelled

The small group laughed, and Evan watched amazed as Connor didn't even move, or lift his head.

"Thank you. Now, can you leave me alone."

"No." the group leader yelled back

Evan stopped walking and the more he watched the exchange between the group of bullies and Connor, the more upset he got. He could tell that Connor was getting upset too, as the sweatshirt in his fists grew more wrinkled by the minute. Evan's hands began to ball into small fists as well.

"He said, leave him alone!" Evan yelled as loud as he could

All of a sudden every pair of eyes in the small group, including Connor's were on him. The leader of the group of bullies frowned, and walked so close to Evan that the tips of their shoes were touching.

"What did you say Hansen. I don't think anyone asked you."

"I said, leave him alone. He's my…my…"

"Your what. You can't even say it right loser."

"My friend." Evan spit out

The group leader laughed, and Evan could feel the anger rising in his stomach again. A warm hot feeling filled his entire body. Before Evan could do anything however, the boy had pushed Evan's shoulder hard, so hard in fact, the Evan fell to the ground, and hit his head against the tree stump where Connor had been sitting.

"Ow." He whispered, tears stinging the corners of his eyes

"You two freaks deserve each other then."

Evan heard laughter as he watched the group of boys shuffle away from him, leaving him, and Connor on their own. Evan allowed the tears to slide down his cheeks a few minutes, wiping them angrily away from his face, before sitting up, holding on to the back of his head.

"Are you okay?"

Evan turned his head toward the voice, and noticed that Connor was sitting up on his knees in front of him. He didn't want Connor to see him cry, so he stared at the dirt, letting the tears leave wet spot on the ground.

"No." Evan mumbled shaking his head

"Do you want to go to the nurse?"

Evan nodded his head, and stood from the ground as best he could, letting Connor lead him back toward the school building, and away from the trees and the bullies at his school.


	4. Chapter 4

Evan wasn't sure how long he had been lying down, but he was pretty sure that he had fallen asleep in the nurse's office. He lifted his head as best he could, and once the familiar surroundings came into focus, he could see that he wasn't alone. Sitting in a chair next to the small bed, was Connor, who was busy swinging his feet back and forth, his own feet not quite touching the floor.

"How long have I been asleep?" Evan mumbled

"I dunno, I can't tell time yet." Connor replied with a half smile

Evan rewarded him with his own half smile, and laid his head back down on the bed.

"But I'll tell your mom that you're awake now. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that she's your mom."

Evan watched as Connor hopped down from his own chair, and in minutes, returned with the nurse who took a seat in the chair that had just been occupied by Connor.

"Are you okay sweetheart. Connor told me everything that happened."

"My heard hurts. " Evan moaned

"I'm sure it does honey. But I'm so proud of you for sticking up for Connor. That was sure acting like a good friend today."

"But I didn't do anything. That boy, he still pushed me down, and hurt me!"

Evan could feel the tears threating to fall again, and as soon as he could feel the familiar touch of his Mom's hand on top of his own, the tears escaped from his eyes, whether he liked it or not.

"But you were a good friend, and that's the most important thing. You lay here, and I'm going to get someone to bring your things to my office. You don't need to go back to class today."

"I can get his stuff!" Connor offered

Mrs. Hansen gave Connor a pat on his back.

"Thank you Connor. That would be so nice of you. Let's give you your medicine while you're here anyway."

Evan could see Connor's cheeks redden at the mention of any medicine, and he sat up in bed, much to the protest of the pounding currently going on in his head. He watched silently, as his Mom, pulled a bottle down from the cabinet, that looked strangely just like his own, and pass Connor a white pill and his own paper cup of water.

"Thanks." Connor mumbled quietly

Before Evan could stop it, he sneezed, causing Connor's eyes to snap back toward where he was laying on the bed. Connor's eyes narrowed into two angry slits, and before he said anything else, he was gone, back to their classroom. Once he was gone, Evan spoke up again.

"Mom, what was that about?"

"That was nothing for you to worry about. Now lie down Evan."

Evan did as he was told, and laid his head back down on the pillow. But if there was one thing that Evan Hansen was good at, it was worrying, and right now, even though it hurt his head, he was going to worry.

Evan must have fallen asleep again, because the sound of the school bell ringing, caused his eyes to shoot open and surprise him so much, that he thought he would fall off the bed. He sat up, his head still aching, and rubbed his eyes, causing the room to come into focus once again. He could hear his mother typing something on the computer, but suddenly he heard another sound, a small gentle knock on the door.

"Come in."

The door to the nurse's office opened slightly, and Evan suddenly saw a mess of dark hair peer around the corner.

"I brought Evan his stuff back. Sorry it took so long. Mrs. Phillip's wouldn't let me leave class again."

Mrs. Hansen stood from her computer chair, and walked closer to Connor.

"Thank you Connor. I appreciate you bringing it back. You can take it back to him, Evan is still lying down. And thank you for taking such good care of him. It is nice to see Evan make such a good friend like you."

Evan couldn't see the look on Connor's face, but he could see the boy walk further into the nurse's office closer to him. Once he was next to the bed again, Connor sat down in the chair, much to Evan's surprise, and dropped his backpack on the floor.

"Here's your stuff."

"Thank you Connor."

"How are you feeling?" Connor asked, his eyes looking downward

"My head hurts, but I'm okay. I'm sorry that happened to you today."

Connor's shoulder rose in a small shrug.

"It's nothing new. It happens at every school I go to. I didn't think this school was going to be any different."

The two boys were silent again, neither of them sure what to say.

"Thanks for sticking up for me." Connor mumbled

This time it was Evan's turn to shrug.

"Sure. Any time. Of course. " He said with a small smile

 _"Would Connor Murphy please report to the office? Your sister is waiting to pick you up."_

Connor's small feet hit the floor, as he slid down from his chair, and adjusted the backpack that sat on his shoulders.

"See you tomorrow Evan."

"See you tomorrow Connor."

"Thanks for being my friend."

Connor raised his eyes finally, and offered Evan his own sideways smile. This caused Evan to smile his own happy, crooked smile.

"Any time."

 ***Thank you SO very much for taking the time to read my story. I really appreciate it, and hoped that you enjoyed each chapter** *


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